British Council, Bridgewater House
58 Whitworth Street, Manchester M1 6BB, UK
T +44 (0)161 957 7000
F +44 (0)161 957 7111
www.britishcouncil.org
Dear Headteacher,
Our festivities for Christmas and New Year in the UK may be over but the Chinese
Spring Festival and Chinese New Year celebrations will begin on 10 February, when,
according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, we will enter the Year of the Snake.
We have prepared this ‘Snakes and Dragons’ education pack for primary schools across
the UK to help you explore Chinese culture and language with pupils in the run-up to
Chinese New Year and beyond.
In your pack you will find:
• Assembly plans
• Lesson plans
• Films and music (on DVD)
• Year of the Snake poster
• Make a paper lantern activity
• Make a dragon puppet activity
• Chopsticks
• Chinese Poems on the
Underground poster
• Case studies
• Template press release
• Links to further resources
With a specific focus on China and Chinese culture, this pack is designed to support
young people’s education about the world around them and to help them gain an
understanding of other countries and cultures in preparation for life as global citizens.
The materials, prepared with input from the IOE Confucius Institute for Schools, will
help you to introduce primary age children to some of the differences and similarities
between the lives, languages and cultures of people in China and the UK.
We are offering this pack to you as one of 9,000 primary schools in the UK that uses
the British Council Schools Online website, www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline.
You can also download these materials directly from this site, as well as many other
resources that support teaching and learning about global citizenship.
Of course, China is just one of many countries that our children will need to understand
and be able to engage with in their future lives. Many schools are already involved
in international education work through programmes like Connecting Classrooms,
Comenius, Language Assistants or the International School Award.
If you would like to find out more about opportunities that might suit your school, look
at the Schools Online website, or contact us at [email protected] or
0161 957 7755.
We hope this pack proves useful for teachers and pupils alike. Please let us have
your feedback!
Best wishes
Martin Davidson
CEO
The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales SC037733 (Scotland).
Celebrating the culture and
language of China in the
Year of the Snake 2013
SNAKES AND DRAGONS
EDUCATION PACK
Contents:
Assembly plans
Chinese New Year – lower and upper primary*
Gaokao: the world’s hardest test – upper primary*
Lesson plans
Chinese New Year – lower and upper primary*
The Terracotta Army – upper primary*
Counting in Chinese – upper primary*
Recycling – upper primary*
Friendship – lower primary
Films and music (on DVD)
Jun Jie's film (for lesson plans). Part of a series
produced by the Ragdoll Foundation.
Gaokao fever film (for assembly plan). From a series
produced by the BBC and the British Council.
Traditional music (for assembly plan)
Children's Film Festival theme song, by Li Lanqing
(for assembly plan)
Additional resources
Year of the Snake poster
Make a paper lantern activity
Make a dragon puppet activity
Chopsticks
Little differences (UK/China)
Chinese Poems on the Underground poster
Case studies
Template press release
Links to further resources
* Written by Katharine Carruthers, IOE Confucius
Institute for Schools, and James Trapp, Consultant
for the British Museum.
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
1
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
2
Assembly plan: Chinese New Year
Intro: play the traditional music on the
enclosed DVD.
Script to introduce video:
Chinese New Year's Day this year is on Sunday 10th
February and it is the beginning of the Year of the Snake.
There are two odd things about that sentence. Firstly, in
the West we celebrate New Year on 1st January, and it is
the same every year. Secondly, we don’t name our New
Year after an animal!
The traditional Chinese calendar is calculated using
the moon – it’s called a lunar calendar – and this
means that its festivals and holidays fall on different
days each year. Last year, Chinese New Year was on
23rd January, and next year it will be on 31st January.
Each year is also named after one of the 12 animals
of the Chinese Zodiac.
In fact New Year’s Day is only one part of a much
longer festival the Chinese call Chun Jie (Spring
Festival) which lasts for 15 days. People in China don’t
actually get 15 days holiday over the Spring Festival,
but most will take off the week starting with New Year’s
Eve and many travel huge distances to be with their
families. Families and food are the most important
things at New Year and this shows in the ways it is
celebrated. Everybody also enjoys the Lantern
Festival which marks the end of the Spring Festival.
Explore the discussion points to the right.
Show video:
www.history.com/videos/history-of-the-holidayschinese-new-year#history-of-the-holidays-chinesenew-year
Exit to the traditional music on the DVD.
They are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse,
Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig, and they are
always in that order, so in 12 years’ time it will be the
Year of the Snake again.
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
Discussion points
• How many of you and your families also
celebrate New Year on a different date?
(e.g. Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and others)
• Why does every culture celebrate New
Year? Do their celebrations have anything
in common?
• What are some of the special features of
Chinese New Year celebrations? Have you
seen any of them in this country?
• Chinese New Year has special foods
that people celebrate with. Are they the
same as ours? Why is food important in
celebrations?
• Do you know what animal you are? Do
you believe it affects what kind of person
you are?
3
Accompanying notes (1)
Assembly plan: Chinese New Year
Food
Food plays a very important part
in Chinese New Year celebrations,
starting with the family reunion
dinner on New Year’s Eve, before
which members of the family (who
may not have seen each other
since the previous New Year), sit
around preparing food (especially
dumplings) and swapping news.
Traditional food eaten during the festival includes rice
balls, which are symbolic of family reunion, affection
and happiness; dumplings, whose shape is supposed
to look like a purse full of money or a silver ingot; fish
(served whole with head and tail to represent the old
and new year) meaning surplus or profit, because the
words for fish and surplus sound the same in Chinese;
and noodles, because they represent long life (you
must never cut noodles at New Year because that
suggests cutting life short). There are lots of other lucky
foods in Chinese tradition – particularly fruit – which
you might like to research.
Lion dance and dragon dance
The most familiar forms of New
Year celebration seen in Chinese
communities and Chinatowns all
over the world are the lion dance
and the dragon dance.
Both of these traditionally date back to the first century
BC in the Han Dynasty. The lion represents strength,
fearsomeness and benevolence; and the dragon
represents power, dignity, wisdom and good luck.
Although the masks can look confusingly similar, the
way to tell a dragon from a lion is that the lion is only
operated by two people inside the costume – usually
highly skilled martial artists – whereas the dragon may
have many participants, depending on its size.
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
New Year in modern China
New Year is the biggest and most
important family celebration
of the year.
In modern China, where not just sons and daughters may
live and work far away from their parents’ home, but also
husbands and wives may work in different parts of the
country, people will make huge efforts to make sure they
are together at New Year. It is the busiest time of year for
transport of all kinds – road, rail and air – and tickets are
very hard to get. Last year it was estimated that over the
New Year period, 3.2 billion journeys were made in China
– which is the equivalent of every single person in the
country making two trips.
4
Accompanying notes (2)
Assembly plan: Chinese New Year
Spring Festival (Chinese New Year),
Chun Jie (春节)
Celebrated from the first day of
the first lunar month, the Spring
Festival is regarded as the most
important festival of the year in
Chinese culture, similar in many
ways to Christmas in Christian
countries.
During the festival, people hold family reunions and
honour their ancestors. The lion dance is performed
in public and red envelopes of money are placed in
the lion’s mouth for good luck. It is traditional also for
grandparents to give their grandchildren red envelopes
with money inside; this is called ya sui qian (压岁钱).
These days the envelopes are just as likely to have
cartoon characters on them as traditional symbols
(www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/asia/
chinese_new_year/happy_chinese_new_year.aspx).
The Spring Festival comes to an end on the 15th day
of the first lunar month with the Lantern Festival
(Deng Jie, 灯节). Chinese people believe that the
illuminated lanterns help guide lost spirits toward
judgement and reincarnation.
A lucky
Chinese
snake coin
春节
压岁钱
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
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Assembly plan: Gaokao – the world’s
hardest test
Discussion points (selection to choose from)
Intro: the children come into assembly to the
theme song for the Children's Film Festival in
2007. The music can be found on the DVD.
Script to introduce the Gaokao fever video
Now we are going to watch a short film about children
at school in China. They are older than you and are
taking a very hard test called the Gaokao before they
leave school. Even though the children are older, there
is a lot you can learn about school in China.
Show video (approx. four minutes)
Explore a selection of the discussion points
to the right.
Exit to the same music that you played at the
beginning.
What did you notice? For example:
• Were the children wearing uniforms?
• What sort of sport/exercise do they do?
How often?
• How much time do the children spend on
homework every night?
• Why do Ma Li’s family move to a different
house?
• Do the children behave well in class?
• Why did they fall asleep?
What was the same as a school in the UK?
What was different? For example:
• What time does the school day start in China?
When does it end?
• How much homework do you have to do?
• Do you have brothers or sisters at secondary
school? Do you think they have to work as hard
as the Chinese children in the film?
• Why do all the roads near to schools close
when the exams are happening? Do you think
this would ever happen here?
• Do you ever do P.E./exercises at the same time
as all the other children in your school? Do you
ever do them in your classroom?
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
Why do you think the Chinese children
work so hard and want to do their best?
Have you ever worked really hard for
something? How did it make you feel?
How do your teachers help you do
your best?
Getting ready
for morning
exercises
7
Accompanying notes
Assembly plan: Gaokao – the world’s
hardest test
Education in China
Compulsory education in China lasts for nine years.
There are six years in primary school and three
years in junior high school. Students can then decide
whether to stay on for senior high school, which lasts
three years and leads to university. Others may go to
vocational school after junior high school instead. The
infamous Gaokao exam is taken by students at the end
of senior high school.
There are two terms in a school year, with the first
term lasting from the beginning of September right
through until the end of January/February when there
is a winter holiday break for three weeks to celebrate
Chinese New Year. The next term begins after the
winter break and lasts until July, when schools break
up for the summer holidays. There are shorter holidays
around National Day (October 1), International Labour
Day (1 May) and International Children’s Day (1 June).
However, there is no Christmas break; Chinese New
Year is the key festival.
Primary school
Children start primary school when they are six years
old. Pre-school starts at the age of three. The school
day is much longer. It will often begin as early as
7.30am and last right through to 4pm or 5pm, with
homework as well. The children all start learning English
in primary school, as well as Chinese, mathematics,
P.E., art and music. All schools offer courses in morality
and ethics. The classes are big, with as many as
40–50 pupils. The pupils do group exercises in the
morning, just like the young people in the Gaokao film.
Competition to get into key secondary schools is fierce.
The following clip on the BBC website has a short
video of life in a primary school for use in class after
the assembly.
www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/a-typical-schoolday-in-a-primary-school-in-china/6252.html
Secondary school
Secondary school is split up into junior high school and
senior high school. Again the competition to get into a
key senior high school is intense, with a high-pressure
examination. Classes are large and the day is long.
There are high expectations from parents (who,
in the cities, generally only have one child) and
teachers and the young people work hard. The
standard of mathematics is particularly high.
At the end of senior high school, the young people take
the Gaokao. This is an exam taken at the same time
across the country, the scores for which are used to
allocate university places. Defenders of the Gaokao,
which has its roots in the imperial exam system, say
the test is very meritocratic, as it allows students from
poorer backgrounds or rural areas to compete for
places in top universities. Others think that the pressure
on the young people is too intense, that the exam
encourages rote learning and that too much time is
spent in senior high school preparing for it.
If you want to understand more about the Chinese
education system, then the following website and
related links are a good place to start.
www.open.edu/openlearn/languages/chinese/chineseeducation-how-do-things-work
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Lesson plan: recycling
What makes me happy
– Jun Jie’s film
Upper primary
Aims:
To introduce recycling as part of everyday life; to
encourage respect for differences and similarities
between different cultures.
Objectives:
• Students will demonstrate their understanding of
recycling as a part of everyday life.
• Students will demonstrate their understanding of
recycling as a positive social activity.
• Students will identify similarities and differences
between their own daily life and that of a child of
similar age in a different country.
Resources:
• Jun Jie’s film: on the DVD or at
www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
• Paper, pencils/felt tip pens
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9
Lesson plan: recycling
Time
15 mins
Whole class
10 mins
Whole class
in groups of 6
Details
Introduction
Watch Jun Jie’s film and locate his home town of Hefei in Anhui Province using Google
Maps or similar.
This film is part of a series called “What makes me happy”. What makes Jun Jie happy?
Activity (35min)
Investigate Hefei – its population, industries etc. How does this compare to where your
school is? What did you see that was the same? What was different? Would you be able to
find the same things as Jun Jie to recycle?
5 minutes
Whole class
feedback
Report group findings and discuss similarities and differences. How different would Jun Jie’s
daily life be from yours?
10 mins
Independent
Follow-up
Ask children to think about the discarded items they could find every day in their
neighbourhood and to design a toy of their own using them.
10 mins
Whole class
Children show and describe their designs to the rest of the class.
Suggestions for further
development
Build actual toys from the children’s
designs. If you have a partner school,
share your results with them and ask them
to show you what kinds of toys they could
make from discarded items in their country.
Apart from recycling, Jun Jie’s story is
also about being an only child in China and
finding friends. A new topic investigating
China’s one-child policy and talking about
friendship and loneliness could also be
introduced using this film.
This film is part of a series called “What
makes me happy” made by the Ragdoll
Foundation following the lives of children
all over the world. You can see the others
and the accompanying lesson plans at
www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
Differentiation
Design work could be done in small groups or with assistance according to ability.
10 mins
Whole class
Plenary
Discuss waste and recycling as a world issue: does China face different problems from the
UK? (Size, population, developing industries etc.)
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Lesson plan: friendship
Lower primary
Jun Jie and
his friend
Aims:
To help children identify the qualities of a good friend
and be good friends to each other.
Objectives:
• To locate the UK and China on a world map.
• To discuss friendship and what makes a good friend.
• To encourage empathy, collaboration, creativity and
communication skills.
Resources:
• Jun Jie’s film: on DVD or at
www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
• Inflatable globes, atlases, large pieces of paper,
pencils/felt tip pens, collage materials and glue, post
it notes, copies of the picture, cameras
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11
Lesson plan: friendship
Time
Details
10 mins
Introduction
Can the children help each other to find the UK and China on globes and maps?
Discuss the difference in the size of the two countries and the different continents where
they are found.
Introduce geographical vocabulary such as continents, Europe, Asia, and northern and
southern hemispheres.
Activity (35min)
Before watching the film, ask the children to look out for the things that Jun Jie collects
on his journey and spot things that are the same and things that are different from where
they live.
fter watching the film, recap on the things they spotted and discuss the following questions:
A
• Jun Jie says that “Having friends to be with and not just by myself" makes him happy. Do
they agree? What else makes them happy?
25 mins
• Do they think it is more fun to do things with others or on their own? If they could ask Jun
Jie a question, what would it be?
• What things do they like to do with their friends?
• How did Jun Jie feel when his bottle was squashed? How did his friend help to cheer
him up?
• What makes a good friend? Can they remember a time when someone was a good friend
to them?
• If a new child arrived in their class what could they each do to make them feel welcome?
• Encourage them to listen carefully to each other and perhaps give their opinions only
when they are holding a special object.
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Lesson plan: friendship
Time
Details
10 mins
Follow-up activities
Give the children copies of the photograph of Jun Jie and his friend. Ask them to add
speech bubbles and thought bubbles showing what they might be thinking and saying.
Group work
Ask the children to work together in small groups and draw around one member of the
group on a large piece of paper. Use art and collage materials to make a big picture of a
friendly child. Around the outside ask them to write the qualities of a good friend for display.
15 mins
Differentiation
Design work could be done in small groups or with assistance according to ability.
Plenary
Ask one member of each group to talk about their picture and the qualities of a good friend
that they identified.
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
Suggestions for further
development
Ask the children to take photographs of
each other playing with their friends in
the playground. Print them and add
thought and speech bubbles. If you have
a partner school you could share your
results with them.
Have a box in your classroom where
pupils can nominate others who have
shown the qualities of a good friend and
award certificates.
13
Lesson plan: Chinese New Year
Upper primary
Aims:
To introduce the traditional celebration of the Chinese
New Year.
Objectives:
• Students will recognise that different groups of
people celebrate holidays unique to them.
• Students will demonstrate their understanding of the
concept of tradition.
• Students will identify and participate in traditional
activities used during Chinese New Year celebrations.
A Chinese classroom
is not very different
from one in the UK
Preparation:
Participate in the Chinese New Year school assembly.
Resources:
Red construction paper, lantern template print-outs,
safety scissors, pencils/felt tip pens, brushes, black paint
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15
Lesson plan: Chinese New Year
Time
Details
15 mins
Whole class
Introduction
Discuss the idea of New Year: why do we celebrate it? When do we celebrate it? When do
countries and communities celebrate it?
Locate China on a map of the world or Google Maps.
Introduce Chinese New Year, the lunar calendar and the Chinese Zodiac. (See poster and
assembly notes.)
5 mins
Whole class
Activity (35mins)
Practise saying the two Chinese New Year good wishes: http://goodcharacters.com/
newyear/resources.html (n.b. the pronunciation frequently heard in the UK of “Kung hee fat
choi” for “Gong xi fa cai” is the Cantonese pronunciation. The phrases here are spoken in
Mandarin, the official language of the People’s Republic of China.)
20 mins
Individually
or in pairs
10 mins
Independent
follow-up
10 mins
Whole class
Using red construction paper and black felt tips or brushes and black paint, have some of
the children make their own pairs of posters using these two phrases.
Suggestions for further
development
Using the resources and lesson plans in
this pack, plan a broader, China-themed
display based around the New Year
lanterns and posters. Investigate further
how to write Chinese characters and how
they are different from our western words
and alphabet. Find a Chinese parent or
approach a local Chinese association or
business to come into the class/school to
talk more about Chinese traditions.
If you have a partner school, share your
results with them and ask them to show
you what festivals they celebrate and how.
The other children will be designing and constructing lanterns using the template included
in this pack.
Children show and describe their designs to the rest of the class. How difficult did they find
it to write the Chinese characters?
Differentiation
Allocate the Chinese character or lantern activities according to ability, with
appropriate adult supervision.
Plenary
Plan your own class New Year display and lantern parade.
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
16
Lesson plan: the Terracotta Army
Upper primary
Find out more
about Qin
Shi Huang’s
Terracotta Army
Aims:
To introduce the history of Qin Shi Huang, the First
Emperor of China, and to investigate his Terracotta Army.
Objectives:
•S
tudents will recognise the historical significance of
Qin Shi Huang as First Emperor of China.
•S
tudents will understand the concept of a model army
to guard the emperor in the afterlife (reference to
Ancient Egyptians if already studied).
• Students will apply creative interpretation of ancient
models into their own creations.
The real thing!
Preparation:
Teacher to gain background knowledge of
First Emperor:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQovGJOeFI8
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFwjpGa5XoA
www.britishmuseum.org/PDF/Teachers_resource_
pack_30_8a.pdf
Resources:
Photocopied images of Terracotta Warriors, paper,
pencils, modelling clay (or other material)
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17
Lesson plan: the Terracotta Army
Time
Details
15 mins
Whole class
Introduction
Locate China on Google Maps, then find the city of Xi’an and then the site of the Terracotta
Army (34˚22’08” N 109˚16’37” E) and the site of the Emperor’s tomb mound (34˚22’53” N
109˚15’14” E)
10 mins
Whole class
Activity (35min)
Introduce the story of the First Emperor and the Terracotta Army using: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=D5atoe51Ylo and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xkxv-uVysv8
(You will find supplementary detailed information here www.britishmuseum.org/PDF/
Teachers_resource_pack_30_8a.pdf )
Practise saying the name “Qin Shi Huang” (Chin Shrrr Hwong)
25 minutes
Individually or
in pairs
Tell the children you will be constructing your own Terracotta Army. Using print-outs of
Terracotta Warriors and/or a slide show (you can use images from http://web.mesacc.
edu/dept/d10/asb/anthro2003/legacy/qin/slide1.html) instruct the children to design and
make their own warrior figures out of modelling clay (or your school’s preferred material).
Encourage them to use the original figures as their models, but to add modern elements if
they wish. They can model faces on friends or family members.
Suggestions for further
development
Using the other resources and lesson plans
in this pack, plan a broader, China-themed
display based around the New Year
lanterns and posters. Investigate further
how to write Chinese characters and how
they are different from our western words
and alphabet. Find a Chinese parent or
approach a local Chinese association or
business to come into the class/school to
talk more about Chinese traditions.
If you have a partner school, share your
results with them and ask them to create
their own Terracotta Army!
Differentiation
Allocate appropriate adult supervision/assistance according to ability.
10 mins
Whole class
Plenary
Choose three children as the Emperor and his generals to hold an inspection of the Army.
Discuss the best way to display the warriors and what additions to make.
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
18
Lesson plan: counting in Chinese
Upper primary
Aims:
To learn to count in Chinese and recognise and write
some simple characters.
Objectives:
•A
ll pupils will learn to count to ten in Chinese and write
the Chinese characters from one to three.
•M
ost students will learn to recognise the characters
from one to ten.
Preparation:
Run or participate in the assembly about Gaokao –
the world's hardest test, which mentions the use of
numbers in the children’s morning exercises. Make
copies of the numbers 1–10 from the PowerPoint
accompanying this pack.
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19
Lesson plan: counting in Chinese
Time
10 mins
Whole class
20 mins
Whole class
Details
Introduction
Put up a map of China. Discuss the number of people who live in China (1.3 billion) and
how Mandarin Chinese is, alongside English, one of the most widely spoken languages
in the world. Pass around some examples of Chinese characters – maybe Chinese
newspapers from your local Chinese supermarket, or menus from a Chinese restaurant.
Talk to the children about how Chinese people write in characters and not letters.
Activity (50min)
Learn to count to ten in Chinese. One or both of the following YouTube videos will be useful.
The first one teaches numbers alongside the traditional Chinese hand signals for numbers.
The second one approaches counting to ten with music.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dijFA3kqDaU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eLP3FuuEVs
There is no need to worry about Chinese tones for this activity. Just ensure that the children
imitate what they hear.
Now focus on looking at the characters. This can be done with the help of the PowerPoint
accompanying this pack. Once the children can recognise the characters, give out the
photocopied numbers cards to children and then ask them to stand up when they hear their
number called out.
15 mins
Individually or
in pairs
Once this has been done a few times, split the children into teams. Shuffle up the numbers
and give one to every child in the first team. Time how long it takes for them to sort
themselves into numerical order. (Any children who don’t have cards can still get up to help
their team.) Repeat the activity with the next team.
There are many more games about numbers which can be displayed and played as a class
or in small groups (depending on the IT facilities in your school) at:
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primarylanguages/mandarin/numbers/
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20
Lesson plan: counting in Chinese
Time
Details
Activity (50min) continued
All the children can learn to write characters one to three and some will be able to go
beyond this. The following website shows you how:
15 mins
Whole
class and
individually
www.learnchineseez.com/characters/learn-to-write-chinese
The children may enjoy doing this with black or red felt tips (as red is a lucky colour in
China).
Ask the children to show their characters to the rest of the class. How difficult did they find
it to write the Chinese characters? You could make classroom displays of their calligraphy.
Suggestions for further
development
It is quite likely that the activities above will
take longer than one session. In the followup session, the children may enjoy putting
their numbers into a short song, like the
songs that can be found here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zohicMy7I4w
(The lyrics in English are just ‘1,2,3,4,5,6,7.
Where is my friend? Here, here, my friend
is here’.)
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primarylanguages/
mandarin/numbers/songs
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
21
一
Chinese numbers
one
You can cover
the answer with
your hand
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
“yı”
23
二
Chinese numbers
two
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
“èr”
24
三
Chinese numbers
three
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
“san”
25
Chinese numbers
四
four
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
“sì”
26
五
Chinese numbers
five
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
“wǔ”
27
Chinese numbers
六
six
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
“liù”
28
Chinese numbers
七
seven
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
“qı”
29
八
Chinese numbers
eight
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
“ba”
30
Chinese numbers
九
nine
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
“jiǔ”
31
十
Chinese numbers
ten
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
“shí”
32
UK
Lucky four-leaf
clover
English uses
letters to make
the word
and sound
Little differences
China
person
Lucky cat
Eating with
knives and
forks
If it’s1o’clock in the
afternoon in London,
England, then...
11 12 1
10
2
9
3
8
4
5
7
6
13
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
Chinese language uses
symbols that illustrate
the words. Person (ren)
is a person bending his
back in hard labour.
人
Eating with
chopsticks
Unlucky
numbers
4
...it’s 9 o’clock in
the evening in
Bejing, China.
11 12 1
10
2
9
3
8
4
5
7
6
33
2
How to make a
Chinese lantern
Cut a straight line across the fold of
the card, about 2cm in from the side,
stopping about 3cm from the unfolded
edge. Don’t cut all the way across!
Cut a strip about 3cm
wide from the short side
of the card. This will be
used to make the handle.
You will need:
A sheet of A4 coloured card,
scissors, a stapler or sticky tape.
1
3
4
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
ACTIVITY SHEET
Fold the rest of the sheet of
card in half length-ways.
Repeat step 3 across the
card, with the cuts about
2cm apart.
35
5
7
Unfold the card, curve it round so the
two short sides are just overlapping,
and staple together at the top and
bottom (or stick together with tape).
6
You can decorate your lantern any way you
like, and hang up a row of different coloured
lanterns along a string from the ceiling.
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
ACTIVITY SHEET
Squash the lantern down
a little so that the middle
pushes outwards. Staple the
handle strip to either side of
the top of the lantern.
36
Fold the sheet of red or
green card in half lengthways, and then cut along the
fold, to give you two long
rectangles of card.
4
Starting at the short side of
one of the rectangles, make
a fold about 2cm deep.
Do the same with the
other rectangle.
37
ACTIVITY SHEET
How to make a Chinese
dragon puppet
1
Keep folding backwards and forwards,
making the folds the same size, to make
a concertina, until all the card is folded.
2
You will need:
A sheet of A4 red or green card, 2 A4 sheets of gold or yellow
card, scissors, 2 straws, chopsticks or pencils, glue, sticky tape,
glitter pens, sequins, wool etc. to decorate your dragon.
3
5
Glue or tape one short end of
one of the folded cards, and fix
to one short end of the other
folded card – make sure the
zigzag of folds looks right.
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
6
Draw a dragon’s head and tail on the gold or
yellow card. The flat ends should be the same
width as the folded rectangles. A photocopiable
template is provided in this pack.
7
Cut out the head and tail.
9
Tape the straws, chopsticks or pencils to
the back of the head and tail. Tape about
3cm onto the card, leaving the long ends
for you to hold and move the puppet with.
Glue or tape the dragon’s
head to one end of the
folded card, and the tail to
the other end.
10
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
8
ACTIVITY SHEET
Using glitter glue, pens,
crayons or whatever you
like, draw on the dragon's
eyes and decorate it
however you like. You could
stick on short pieces of wool
to give him a beard.
38
ACTIVITY SHEET
39
ACTIVITY SHEET
40
Case study: Mandarin teaching and cultural
development at Greasby Infant School
Teaching about China and Mandarin Chinese has become
intrinsic to Greasby Infant School over the last five years,
and now we are delighted to be extending Mandarin
teaching, as well as other activities, to all pupils.
Our aim has always been to ensure that our pupils
and members of the local community have a greater
awareness and understanding of China, its geography,
history, culture, music and traditions, through sharing
in our activities and celebrating our knowledge and
success.
Now, with the support of our local Confucius
Classroom*, Calday Grange Grammar School, we can
provide Mandarin lessons on a weekly basis for every
child. We are also extending our full range of Chinarelated activities to the whole school and the wider
community.
In Chinese lessons, pupils not only learn to speak
and write in Mandarin but also study Chinese culture,
music, art, songs and rhymes, together with the history
and geography of the country. We celebrate Chinese
festivals and involve parents and the community
through concerts, music festivals and exhibitions.
For the children, the many benefits include improved
listening skills, greater awareness of the world and
cultures beyond their immediate experiences, and
– above all – enhanced self-esteem and a love of
languages and learning.
Our latest Ofsted report states that cultural
development is 'outstanding’ at Greasby, after the
inspector witnessed Year 2 celebrating Chinese New
Year by singing in Mandarin, making Chinese lanterns
and playing Chinese musical instruments.
Find out how a Chinese language assistant could
help you introduce Mandarin teaching, at:
www.britishcouncil.org/languageassistants-fla
Sign your pupils up for a week-long immersion
course in Chinese culture and language at:
www.britishcouncil.org/schoolpartnershipskeystage2course
It is not only in Mandarin that we are making significant
developments; we also offer French or German to all
pupils, and a specialist Modern Foreign Languages
teacher co-ordinates all our international work. We
believe that language learning has to begin at the
earliest possible age and should be an entitlement for
all children and we are delighted to be making great
progress in achieving this.
*An Institute of Education, University of London
Confucius Classroom
By Joanne Hall, Headteacher at Greasby Infant School
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
41
Case
study:
introducing Mandarin at
Teaching
plan
Robin Hood Primary School
In an interview to teach French at Robin Hood Primary
School, Birmingham, six years ago, I was asked if I would
consider learning Chinese. So, I enrolled at my local
language centre and, simultaneously, started teaching
Mandarin to Year 2 pupils!
At first my knowledge was just two weeks ahead of
the children but eventually that gap grew. The internet,
YouTube and a personal learning network of language
teachers on Twitter helped to fill gaps in my knowledge,
while language shows and conferences also kept me upto-date with professional development.
From the start, Year 2 loved learning Mandarin. I used
a display wall and maintained a languages blog to
showcase the children’s work, Chinese items they found
in their daily lives, references for them to work on at
home, and anything fascinating I found out about Chinese
or China. All of this ensured that China was never far from
their minds.
all 2,700 pupils and staff, observed lessons across the
school’s three campuses and experienced China’s
phenomenal culture, food and traditions.
Since then we have had four further teacher excursions
to Beijing and have hosted successful visits from our
Chinese partners in return. Mandarin lessons are now
rolling out across the whole school; class teachers
are also learning the language and joining the visits to
Beijing. Networking with other schools in the UK that
teach Mandarin has been helpful and Hawes Side Primary
Academy, Blackpool, now joins our visits to China and
teaches Mandarin.
Robin Hood Primary School holds the
International School Award. Find out about
this award at www.britishcouncil.org/
schoolsonline/isa
We can help you find a partner school in
another country; see www.britishcouncil.
org/schoolsonline for guidance on forming
a partnership and sources of support for
your work together.
The teacher visits are important for maintaining our link
with Beijing No. 2 and for making Chinese culture and
language more real for the children. We are giving the
children a valuable knowledge and understanding of
another culture that they may never have had otherwise.
In 2010 the school appointed a new headteacher,
Richard Hunter, who had already forged a strong link with
Beijing No. 2 Experimental Primary School. Although I
enjoyed learning and teaching Mandarin, I didn’t fully ‘get
it’ until we visited our Chinese partner school, addressed
By Simone Haughey, Teacher of Modern Foreign Languages
www.schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org
SNAKES
AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
42
42
Publicity
Your Chinese New Year
celebrations are a great
opportunity to get media
coverage for your school. Here’s
some advice on how to do this:
• The easiest way to get the attention of your local
media is to fill in the blanks in our template press
release on the DVD. The bits you need to fill in are in
red, but don’t forget to change them to black when
you’ve finished!
• Send the completed press release to your local
media. As well as your local newspaper, think about
sending it to your local radio and TV stations – but
only if you’d be willing to speak on the radio or be
filmed!
• If you need any help getting hold of media contacts
in your area – or any other media advice – you can
contact the British Council press office on
020 7389 4889/4967 or email us at
[email protected]
This template press release is provided to help your
school to tell local media about how and why you are
learning a little about China at this time. A Microsoft
Word version of this press release is on the DVD for
you to tailor before sending to your local media.
release
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43
Schools Online
Have you looked at British Council
Schools Online recently? Take a
moment to check it out at:
www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
The British Council offers a vast array
of support, training and resources for
schools. These include:
• International School Award scheme
• Connecting Classrooms programme
• eTwinning, an online community for
schools
• Global learning resources
• Professional development resources
• Teacher ICT toolkit
• English language resources
...and much, much more!
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
Find out more
We hope you enjoyed the activities in this pack.
There are lots more ways you can get involved in
international work with China – and other countries:
Find a partner school
Use our Schools Online partner finding
tool to link up with schools in China and
many other countries worldwide.
www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
Communicate
Use our forums and online project
spaces with your partner school.
www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
Access resources
Check out our global learning resources,
including classroom activities, videos
and lesson plans.
schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org/
projects-and-resources
Learn Mandarin
Host a Mandarin language assistant. It’s
easy to organise and you can share the
assistant with other local schools.
This scheme is supported by HSBC.
www.britishcouncil.org/
languageassistants-fla
Courses for primary pupils
Take part in our free week-long Chinese
culture and language immersion
courses specifically aimed at KS2 pupils
in England and Wales. This course is
sponsored by HSBC.
www.britishcouncil.org/
schoolpartnerships-keystage2course
Travel
Meet your partners from China (or
another country) with a Connecting
Classrooms partnership grant. Your
partner can also get a grant to visit you.
www.britishcouncil.org/
connectingclassrooms
Get accredited
Sign up to our prestigious International
School Award scheme to earn
accreditation for your international work.
www.britishcouncil.org/
schoolsonline/isa
HSBC has worked extensively with
the British Council for over 10 years
to support UK school partnerships
with China, through the teaching of
Mandarin and Chinese culture.
SNAKES AND DRAGONS www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline
Information about China
Chinese name generator
www.mandarintools.com/
chinesename.html
www.earlyimperialchina.co.uk
General contemporary information
on China
www.chinatoday.com
Chinese history
www.ancientchina.co.uk
www.britishmuseum.org/PDF/
Teachers_resource_pack_30_8a.pdf
Chinese culture
www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/
uk_tours_and_loans/china_journey_
to_the_east/teaching_resources.aspx
www.activityvillage.co.uk/chinese_
new_year.htm
China – general teaching resources
www.countries.mrdonn.org/china.html
Introduction to Chinese language
and support for Chinese
language learning
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/
primarylanguages/mandarin
www.hellomylo.com
http://ci.ioe.ac.uk
www.chinaculture.org